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Category Archives: Home Improvement

Most of us are living a hectic lifestyle full of schedules, responsibilities, demanding job or business and it can get pretty stressful at times, which is why it’s good to consider some ways to make your home at least, stress-free. After all, that is where you start and end every day.

Choosing the right handyman for the job actually saves money and time.

A good, honest handyman can be hard to find. When doing home repair and renovations you want the right person for the job or else the job they do will have to be redone or won’t last. You don’t want to cheap out but you also don’t want to waste your time and money. Here are few important tips to consider when looking for the handyman for your next home improvement project.

Choose your plumber, then your fixtures
You wanna find out what brand of fixtures your plumber likes to work with and then choose those. The idea is, he’s already proficient and quick with installing the brands he likes. This will minimize the problems during install and will lower the time spent on the job.

Hire a qualified electrician
When it comes to electrical work you don’t want to take chances. Electrical issues can cause fires and even worse, shock somebody. The person you hire for electrical work has to be qualified and have a track record – else stay away. Look for signs like: light switches and outlets in strange places.

Ask your handyman for a guarantee
A good confident handyman will stand by his work and will offer you a longer guarantee. Steer clear of those who fail to give one or else you’ll be spending more time and money correcting issues or in worst case scenario redoing all the work again.

Shorten that repair visit
If you’re paying the handyman by the hour then this is important to consider. Cut the chat to lower the time handyman spent working and thus the money you dish out. Discuss all the details prior to work being started, on the phone or email. Also, clear all the obstacles where the work will be done and provide proper light so the handyman can see. Lastly, tell the handyman not to bother cleaning up as they won’t do a good job anyway but will only stall to charge more time.

With close to 200,000 house break-ins in 2010, this offence was one of the most common property crimes reported by police, accounting for 15% of all property-related incidents.

Once you go through all the trouble and headache of finding and buying that perfect dream home – you want to enjoy it in peace. Breaking and entering crimes and theft incidents are happening all the time, with close to 200,000 house break-ins in 2010, this offence was one of the most common property crimes reported by police, accounting for 15% of all property-related incidents. In this article I’ll show you 10 top things to consider when make your home more secure and thief-proof.

Get rid of excess shrubbery so you have a better view of the street and your neighbours. The less spots for the thief to hide the better.

Install strong outside lighting with motion sensors and keep few main lights inside and outside on during night. Thieves hate being exposed.

Add bars to your basement windows so nobody can enter through there. Also make sure you take the crank out of your windows if they have it. If you got the twist latch windows – pin two parts of window together. Close the windows, drill holes through the frames where they overlap on each side, then slide in long nails in each hole.

Install a double-cylinder lock that takes keys on both sides. Consider the new safety glass designed for windowed doors. Consider heavy doors with as less openings (dog/cat doors, large mailboxes, etc.) as possible.

Always keep garage doors locked! If you can install a web camera in there. “Recode” your automatic garage-door openers so thieves can’t try to open it using generic factory setting signal code.

Install a solid security system. Make sure you inform yourself with the security company’s reputation and history to make sure you’re dealing with the best.

Be part of the “Neighbourhood Watch” program. Keep an eye on your neighbours’ property, ask them to do the same for you, and call the police if you notice anything suspicious.

Get a dog or at least pretend to have one. It’s a fact – dogs can be excellent watchers and warn you of an intruder.

Hide you money, jewellery and very expensive stuff, either get a safe or put it in a bank vault. Don’t leave it exposed or flash it to everyone. Also lock up your ladders, tools and anything that might help the thief break into your home.

Install a peephole in all solid exterior doors, including the door that connects to the garage so you can always see who’s on the other side.

If you have any great tips or advice on how to make your home more secure, please share it, drop me a line or leave a comment.

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Lori VanDinther is a professional Burlington Ontario real estate agent with RE/MAX Garden City
Realty Inc., Brokerage. If you’re thinking of moving into Burlington or selling your existing home – give Lori a call.